Phonebloks: The smartphone for the rest of your life

What does 20 million tonnes of electronic waste look like? Well, it looks something like a large container train full of decaying technology stretched all the way around the world. Every year we dispose of at least that quantity of 'e-waste' and our phones are one of the biggest causes. The solution? Phonebloks -- the mobile phone you'll never need to throw away.

When electronics decide to give up it's usually just one component that's causing the problem. Enter Phonebloks: a fully customizable phone built from, you guessed it, blocks. Phone getting slow? Change the memory block. Like taking pictures? Update your camera. The blocks then attach easily to a base which connects them all together.

The designers at Phonebloks are not the only ones seeking a solution to the planet's growing e-waste problem. One of the zanier concepts by Daizi Zheng is a phone powered by a 'bio battery' that feeds on the sugars and enzymes in Coca Cola and it's supposed to last 3-4 times longer than a lithium battery.

The Leaf phone concept by Anastasia Zharkova not only looks like a leaf but behaves like one too. It is fed by the sun and, made from wholly organic materials, it's also biodegradable.

Eventually we might be able to make our electronics disappear altogether. Researchers at the University of Illinois and Tufts University have developed a fully soluble yet robust electric circuit that one day could eradicate the environmental impact of our fast-paced gadget industry forever.

With the latest in sustainable tech you don't even have to hope for sun to guarantee you power. Now all you need is the inevitable force of gravity. It takes only 3 seconds to lift the weight that powers GravityLight, which in turn creates 25 minutes of light on its descent.
It can be used over and over again with no running costs.

So simple yet so effective, like all the best designs, USBCELL is a battery that can be charged via USB so you never need to throw them away.

It really is that simple. Just add water and this can-shaped clock will use the latest in 'long life H2O technology' to keep it ticking.

It's wireless, it looks great and it's 92% biodegradable. iZen's latest keyboard is made from bamboo, which is one of the world's most renewable and compostable resources.

With Ecoxpower you can keep fit, charge your electronics and save the planet all at the same time. What more could you want? Attach the device to your bike and your pedaling will power the headlight and your smartphone or GPS too.

Already a huge hit in the developing world, Nokero's solar-powered light bulbs, which glow just as intensely as a standard light bulb, are the simplest way to reduce both energy waste and your electricity bill.
Compiled by Monique Rivalland

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The only phone you'll ever need?

Building blocks

Soda powered phone

Leaf phone

Soluble circuits

Gravity light

USB Cell

Water-powered clock

Compostable keyboard

Pedal power

Light relief

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STORY HIGHLIGHTS

Phonebloks concept aims to reduce global e-waste

The invention will 'click together' like Lego

Global e-waste amounts to between 20 and 50 million tonnes a year

Critics argue that modular phones could increase e-waste rather than reducing it

London, England (CNN) -- What if you could buy a smartphone that would last you for the rest of your life?

This is the dream of Dutch designer Dave Hakkens, whose 'Phonebloks' concept has captured the public imagination and received celebrity endorsement from the most unexpected quarters.

Phonebloks is a radical cell phone idea that aims to dramatically reduce global electronic waste ('e-waste') by offering users the opportunity to upgrade parts -- or bloks -- of their cell phone rather than having to replace the entire device.

Hakkens says that he came up with Phonebloks as a response to the accelerating pace of technological waste: "I don't like the direction electronics are heading. They get more disposable and get a shorter life with every model. This gives a lot of e-waste."

The environmental campaign organisation Greenpeace estimates that global e-waste now amounts to between 20 and 50 million tons a year. Put into perspective, they say that quantity of waste, loaded onto container trains, would stretch all the way around the world.

Once constructed, Hakkens hopes that the Phonebloks handset will be built from components that can be 'clicked' together like Legos. Each component will have its own function e.g. Bluetooth, WiFi, battery, or camera. When a component stops working or needs to be upgraded, it can be quickly replaced with a new 'blok'.

In theory, Hakkens believes that choosing separate components could enable users to personalize their cell phone to their own specifications, adding an improved camera, increased storage or a larger battery.

Phonebloks will be composed of modular pieces or 'bloks' which click together like Lego

"The idea is to set up a platform which, if used correctly, can reduce the amount of waste significantly," Hakkens says.

At present, Phonebloks is still a long way from reaching the market -- indeed its inventor hasn't even asked for any money to begin developing it. For now, Hakkers has simply been gathering support for the concept through the "crowd-speaking" platform Thunderclap.

At the time of writing, the Phonebloks concept video has received more than 12 million views on YouTube and been shared on social networks more than 650,000 times. The project has also received support from the actor Elijah Wood and television correspondent Jessica Northey.

Hakkens says that at the very least his campaign has shown that there is an appetite for an environmentally friendly cell phone and that even though the concept was only officially launched a week ago "we are already having conversations with some serious players."

Tom Dowdall, a Climate and Energy spokesperson for Greenpeace, says that the interest in Phonebloks may be useful in underlining the growing prooblem of e-waste: "Hopefully the popularity of the Phonebloks concept will spark more action from the major manufacturers. It should not be beyond the innovative phone companies to make products that are upgradable and designed to last."

Martin Cooper, the inventor of the cell phone, says he suspects Phonebloks will not make it to market

Martin Cooper, the inventor of the cell phone, told CNN that while the Phonebloks concept is 'well-meaning' he suspects it will never become a reality: "the main reason that the Phoneblok will not hit the market is it will cost more, be bigger and heavier, and be less reliable ... By the time it could be brought to market, the problem that engendered it will be gone."

Andy Redfern, co-founder of the 'ethically-conscious online retailer' Ethical Superstore says he thinks Phonebloks is an excellent concept, but agrees with Cooper that it will be difficult to produce:

"Phonebloks seems such an obvious idea that it makes you wonder why no one has ever taken this approach before ... However it faces two significant challenges - one technical and one cultural," Redfern says.

"To reduce cost and increase battery life as much of the phone functionality as possible is crammed on to a single piece of silicon ... So the technical challenge is meeting the current battery life and size requirements if we are going to benefit from easy upgrades.

"And culturally? Well we want the lightest phone with longest battery life. The Phoneblok is likely to have to compromise on that and we will have to change our expectations and our thinking."

"However," Redfern says "creating a phone that feeds our appetite for upgrades without having to throw away the whole phone would seem to make great sense."